January 29, 2011

Like many, I have been watching the democracy demonstrations in Egypt. Among the chaotic images have been some truly inspiring ones. Foreign Policy magazine has a few photos of protesters praying while armed riot police watch. The juxtaposition of the two groups of people is remarkable. Check them out here, here, and here. But the most iconic of them was taken by an anonymous person and posted here. In the picture, protesters are praying while being hit with a water cannon fired by police. The peaceful demonstration is even more powerful with the imagery of prayer, especially taking such a submissive position in the face of riot police. It seems that this image of Muslim protesters praying captures the teachings of Jesus better than most shots of what happens in U.S. Christian churches.